Tyres - 205/45R17

[KenJ]

Hi all,

Within the next month I will be needing to buy 4 new tyres for my Mini Cooper D. The tyre size is 205/45R17. Can anyone recommend a good brand (the car currently has Dunlop's on) and a rough price I should be paying?

I do roughly 12000 miles per year, so would like a tyre that doesn't wear too quickly. Must also be reasonable in the wet.

Does anyone know of any deals being offered by any of the national tyre companies?

Cheers for the help

[Spantney]

My car uses the same tyre dimensions. When I had to have both my fronts replaced last year I went into Alley Cat tyres and asked for Pirelli P-Zeros and the guy recommended me UniRoyal Rainsport 2's. They were about 30 quid cheaper each than the Pirelli's and although prepared to pay the extra he was so adamant they were just as good I thought I would give them a try. I must admit, I have been quite impressed with them (especially for a brand I hadn't heard of before!), even in the wet they grip really well. I would quite recommend them Cheers, Ant

Edit: Oh and the tyres including fitting and balancing, I paid £250 on the dot.

Edited by Spantney on Wednesday 25th April 21:12

[anonymous-user]

I just had 4 Kumho runflats fitted to daughters Cooper S @ around £110 each fitted/balanced etc. Supposed to be good for the price..

[Codswallop]

What type of driving do you expect to do? A "good" brand name does not automatically ensure you get good tyres.

Have a look at this tyre test for some ideas; http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/total_tyre_g...

PHers often recommend Toyo T1R and Falken FK452 tyres. I personally have gone through several sets of Kumho Ecsta ku31 tyres which have gripped and lasted well.

National tyre chains tend to be rubbish on price in my experience. Camskill.com and blackcircles.com tend to be better in that respect.

[FoundOnRoadside]

Difficult to pass up Uniroyal - they're made by Continental (and not "made by" like "Whooflungdungs are made by Michelin" bullst tyre fitters tell you).

I like Uniroyals, but they're not the longest last tyre, I'd say 12k on the front would be doing well.

I replaced Uniroyals on the Mondeo with Pirelli P7, they were a fiver more per tyre, and they're far better. Whole lot quieter, slightly better grip, far better steering feel. Very similar to Bridgestones, without the spine-breaking ride.

[vixen1700]

Try looking on Event Tyres. Used them for the first time the other week and was very impressed, and so are all their customers it seems.

http://www.event-tyres.co.uk/

Just choose your tyres and they'll come and fit them at home or work.

[g40steve]

Running Michelin Exalto PE2 in your size at present.
Grip wet or dry is very confidence inspiring.
On road or track these are excellent.
Last too unlike other brands.
You get what you pay for, but at end of day I don't skimp on whats touching the road.

[s m]

Are you hoping to replace with runflats? Or did you choose the option of non-runflats?

I'd recommend Continental Sport Contacts - if you're going non-runflats you'll need a can of tyre foam or the Mini system

[ashleyqprw12]

I use Avon Z33's on my Fiesta ST, approx 1500miles now and have been impressed with these, good stopping in wet, and held the road well in the dry, although this may be exageratted due to the ditchfinders that had been on before i purchased the car, glad to have them changed!

Edit: Should add, 80 a corner, at apsley tyres in hertfordshire

Edited by ashleyqprw12 on Thursday 26th April 12:07

[Wild Rumpus]

I have my Mini JCW on Hankook Ventus V12 Evo tyres. They are well price and grip well on wet and dry roads. They are supposedly very poor on ice & snow, but I use winter tyres for that...

[Martin_Hx]

Wild Rumpus said:

I have my Mini JCW on Hankook Ventus V12 Evo tyres. They are well price and grip well on wet and dry roads. They are supposedly very poor on ice & snow, but I use winter tyres for that...

Had some of these for around 6 months now, spot on. Were fine in the light snow we had, a decent, if not lower end proformance tyre.

[RizzoTheRat]

If you're not after the last word in traction then Hankooks are good for the money, and lasted well on my 306. Not as much grip as the Contisports I've got on the Octavia but plenty good enough and a fraction of the price.

[Wild Rumpus]

Martin_Hx said:

Had some of these for around 6 months now, spot on. Were fine in the light snow we had, a decent, if not lower end proformance tyre.

They are certainly much better than the original runflats, that's for sure, at around half the price...
The Toyo T1R and Avon ZZ3 also seem to have a good name amongst Mini drivers.

[Real Fandango]

NEWBIE ASKING ABOUT TYRES:
I've just joined the PH site (Sunday 13 October 2013) and the most recent chat about tyres was April 2012 (but p'raps I've not looked in the right place?). Please has anyone got advice about factory fit vs. non-manufacturer tyres?

Question: Do you recommend my asking Peugeot dealership to fit NON-Peugeout "included in the price" tyres on a NEW factory ordered 208GTi? P'raps the dealership wouldn't sell the new car with NON-Peugeot fitted tyres, because of "safety issues" (cos they wouldn't put themselves in the danger zone of, "It only happened cos the tyres weren't Peugeot's factory-fit.")

Peugeot 208GTi tyres are 17-inch 205/45. My driving includes "round town", "M6-M1-M42" (always less than 70mph- speed cameras and all that,) sometimes A542 Horseshoe Pass and A5, Llangollen, Cambrian Mountains and Llangower or Lake Vyrnwy... so varied driving styles and environments.

Should I try the Peugeot factory-fit for about 5000 miles then change them, or wear them to legal change, or ask Peugeot to give me a good deal on Dealership-fitted Pirelli P Zero Nero GT 205/45 ZR17 88W XL?! The market is huge and so far, my decision is only "yes, run-flats". This site (pasted address, here) seems to give a fair appraisal: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre-Size/17-Inch-Tyr...

Any guidance from any PistonHeads?

Edited by Real Fandango on Sunday 13th October 13:04

[ahenners]

Real Fandango said:

NEWBIE ASKING ABOUT TYRES:
I've just joined the PH site (Sunday 13 October 2013) and the most recent chat about tyres was April 2012 (but p'raps I've not looked in the right place?). Please has anyone got advice about factory fit vs. non-manufacturer tyres?

Question: Do you recommend my asking Peugeot dealership to fit NON-Peugeout "included in the price" tyres on a NEW factory ordered 208GTi? P'raps the dealership wouldn't sell the new car with NON-Peugeot fitted tyres, because of "safety issues" (cos they wouldn't put themselves in the danger zone of, "It only happened cos the tyres weren't Peugeot's factory-fit.")

Peugeot 208GTi tyres are 17-inch 205/45. My driving includes "round town", "M6-M1-M42" (always less than 70mph- speed cameras and all that,) sometimes A542 Horseshoe Pass and A5, Llangollen, Cambrian Mountains and Llangower or Lake Vyrnwy... so varied driving styles and environments.

Should I try the Peugeot factory-fit for about 5000 miles then change them, or wear them to legal change, or ask Peugeot to give me a good deal on Dealership-fitted Pirelli P Zero Nero GT 205/45 ZR17 88W XL?! The market is huge and so far, my decision is only "yes, run-flats". This site (pasted address, here) seems to give a fair appraisal: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre-Size/17-Inch-Tyr...

Any guidance from any PistonHeads?

Edited by Real Fandango on Sunday 13th October 13:04

What is wrong with running the standard fit tyres? I run Pirelli P Zeros on my car and they seem pretty good. Factory delivered cars usually always come with premium brand tyres and they are rarely crap, especially on sporty models. Certainly not crap enough to change before they are worn IME.

[parabolica]

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